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Seven North Jersey restaurateurs are celebrating their successful completion of an accelerator program launched by on-demand delivery platform DoorDash.

Launched in collaboration with Accion Opportunity Fund, the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and The Five-Borough Chamber Alliance, the initiative was designed to help level the playing field for eateries owned by women, immigrants and people of color.

During an Aug. 7 graduation ceremony at Hudson Community College in Jersey City, representatives from DoorDash were joined by the program’s partnering organizations to honor the graduates.

Part of a larger cohort of 20 New York City region awardees, these seven New Jersey grant recipients represent the first restaurants in the state to receive assistance through the Accelerator for Local Restaurants program:

• Café Metro, Teaneck
• Casa Cubana, Jersey City
• Cavany Foods, Jersey City
• Cliffs Café, Englewood Cliffs
• Mi Lindo Ecuador, Newark
• Neguess Creole Restaurant, Vauxhall
• SQ Pizza, Mahwah

Along with $10,000 grants, the eight-week initiative provided small businesses with training, education, one-on-one customized business advising and opportunities to connect with other local restaurant owners.

Additionally, DoorDash teamed up for the first time with reusable packaging company DeliverZero to provide up to a six-month supply of free eco-friendly packaging to all participating restaurants to help them transition to a more sustainable future.

Carlos Medina, president and chief executive officer of SHCCNJ, said, “We were excited to join our partners at DoorDash and the Accion Opportunity Fund in celebrating the great restaurants that have successfully completed the Accelerator for Local Restaurants program.

“Our organization is committed to empowering Hispanic-owned businesses and promoting economic growth in our communities, and we are proud to support these seven New Jersey businesses, which represent the diversity of this cohort of restaurateurs. As the first New Jersey cohort of the Accelerator for Local Restaurants, we look forward to watching these local small business owners succeed, grow, and thrive across our communities,” Medina added.

Created in support of DoorDash’s broader commitment to local businesses, the accelerator has already helped more than 150 restaurant owners in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and Portland.

The graduation ceremony in Jersey City this week also featured a panel moderated by Meredith Medlin Dooley, senior director of business education programs at Accion Opportunity Fund, as well as an audience Q&A and networking.

Bernadine Harrigan, owner of Café Metro, a Teaneck eatery specializing in Caribbean cuisine, said she is “always looking for ways to innovate and grow” her seven-year-old business and learned a great deal about how to leverage best practices to improve operations.

“I’m so grateful for these lessons, especially how much I learned about reusable packaging and sustainable business practices. Because of the program, I’m excited to incorporate reusables into my business going forward and encourage other restaurant owners to do the same,” she said.